Senior PA to Chief Information and Digital Officer

As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is a special place to work. We’re an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history.

We’ve set ourselves the challenge of becoming the 21st Century national archive - a different kind of cultural and heritage institution:
Inclusive, Entrepreneurial, Disruptive. We won’t become this overnight. It will take time, focus, effort and daring.

That’s where you come in. Because we can’t do this without you.

Job Overview

Salary: £33,000 - £38,000 per annum
Contract type:
Permanent
Band: E / Higher Executive Officer
Closing date:
Friday 30th October 2026 at midnight

The National Archives is looking for a Senior Personal Assistant to provide a full range of professional executive support services to the Chief Digital and Information Officer, an Executive Director at The National Archives.

The Person al Assistant will work proactively to manage the Director’s time, to maximise their ability for focus on leadership and strategic activity. They will use their discretion to manage Director’s diaries, monitoring and respond appropriately to email inboxes, organising meetings and appointments, as well as controlling demands on Director’s time.

We are looking for an exceptionally organised, adaptive and confident communicator, ready to handle all kinds of situations with sound judgment and discretion.

This is a full time post. However, requests for part‑time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department.

A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time.

Application Process

Interview:
Interviews will be held on‑site, ideally week commencing 16th November.

Personal Statement:
We ask all applicants to submit work history details and a personal statement, not exceeding 1200 words.

Selection for interview will be based on the 6 ‘essential’ requirements in the job description (below) so please ensure that your application demonstrates in detail how you meet these requirements. You may find it helpful to use each criteria as a sub‑heading. We also recommend use of the STAR method: https://na

If we receive a large number of applications candidates will initially be assessed on one criteria only: “Sound judgement, reputation for discretion, trusted and able to maintain confidentiality. Knowing when and who to communicate sensitive information to.”

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please visit the Civil Service Careers website where you can find further information on the use of AI in the application guidance section.

Sponsorship:

We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Job Description

Department CEO’s Office

Reports to Chief Digital and Information Officer

Line manages None

Band Band E

Location Kew

Provide a full range of professional executive support services to the Chief Digital and Information Officer, an Executive Director at The National Archives.

The Person al Assistant will work proactively to manage the Director’s time, to maximise their ability for focus on leadership and strategic activity. They will use their discretion to manage Director’s diaries, monitoring and respond appropriately to email inboxes,…